Busia Dreamed Of Prosperous Ghana – Nana

President Akufo-Addo in a handshake with former President Kufuor as Vice President Bawumia looks on

President Akufo-Addo has eulogized former Prime Minister of Ghana under the 2nd Republic Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia.

Speaking at a lecture to mark the 40th Anniversary of the death of Dr Busia, President Akufo-Addo said the late Prime Minister dreamed of a peaceful and prosperous nation.

The President said that Dr Busia led the Progress Party to “a solid victory in 1969 and served as Prime Minister from that time until 1972.

President Akufo-Addo said that Ghana would have achieved much in terms of national development, especially at the rural level if Dr. Busia had been given the chance to govern further.

He described the late Prime Minister as an “illustrious son of this land who viewed freedom as a great ally of progress.

Dr. Busia, who was overthrown in 1972, remained in exile until his death on August 28, 1978.

Ghana Robbed

President Akufo-Addo noted that the overthrow of the Progress Party Government meant that Ghana was deprived of the full impact of Dr Busia’s agenda for development.

“Decades have gone to show that we turned out to be the poorer for it. We can imagine, for example, where our nation would have been now if he had been given the opportunity to develop his visionary programme of rural development,” he said.

He continued, “Some of the ills of contemporary Ghana, such as rural-urban migration, which has been the source of much current social tension, could well have been avoided.”

According to President Akufo-Addo, Dr Busia was unequivocal that democracy cannot endure if the leaders and the people are not committed to it; if they do not understand it or if they are not sincere to its principles.

“He believed that democracy could and must work in this country, and it was for this reason that patriots such as himself, Joseph Boakye Danquah, Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey, Edward Akufo-Addo, William Ofori-Atta, S.D. Dombo, B.K. Adama, Baffour Osei Akoto, Victor Owusu, R.R. Amponsah, Joe Appiah, Osei Baidoo, Oheneba Kow Richardson, S.G. Antoh, Modesto Apaloo, Ashie Nikoi, Attoh Okine and others, risked their lives to fight against the asphyxiation of our freedom and the incapacity of our parliamentary system to defend it,” he said.